


Sunday Dinner

by Ysabetwordsmith



Series: Love Is For Children [46]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers Family, Dinner, Families of Choice, Family, Family Bonding, Family Dinners, Fluff, Food, Friendship, Gen, Team Bonding, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 13:41:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17684549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ysabetwordsmith/pseuds/Ysabetwordsmith
Summary: Steve and Bucky come up with another bonding activity for the Avengers and their friends.





	Sunday Dinner

**Author's Note:**

> This is the freebie for the February 5, 2019 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from Dreamwidth users Mashfanfichick, Gingicat, and Torc87.

The concept of family was  
integral to the team, but also  
a touchy topic in Avengers Tower.

Phil pointed out to Steve and Bucky  
that despite their hardships, they had   
better memories of childhood than  
most of their teammates did.

Sure, they all had Game Night  
to share now, but they needed  
more than that to make a life.

"Okay, I get that," Steve said,  
rubbing a hand through his hair.  
"What do you want me to do?"

"Well, can you think of   
any other family traditions  
or rituals that you enjoyed  
and want to share?" Phil said.

"I ... don't know," Steve said.  
"I mean, I remember plenty, but  
I'm not sure if any of that would  
really appeal to modern folks."

"Sunday dinner," Bucky blurted.  
"Everybody used to do that, and  
now hardly anyone eats together.  
It's bad for family, bad for friends,  
when you don't do that. So we   
should bring it back. Besides,   
_everyone_ on our team loves food!"

"That's a good idea," Steve said.  
"People copy what we do, so we   
might as well take advantage of it.  
We already have Game Night for  
the team, but we don't really have  
a time to bring in our friends."

"I'm inviting Daveed," said Bucky.

"We could ask Dr. Samson too,"  
said Steve. "He already knows  
at least half of the team."

"I'll pass the word," Phil said,  
taking out his smartphone.

When they went down to  
Tony's workshop in person  
because he wasn't answering  
his phone, Steve explained  
the new Sunday Dinner idea.

Tony blinked for a moment.  
"Okay. I'm inviting Rhodey."

"Hey, we can call Sam too,"  
said Bucky. "He's comfortable  
with us even when we're squirrelly."

When Betty heard of the plan,  
she said, "I'll ask Tiffany in Publicity.  
We need more women around here."

"She is not wrong," Bruce said.

When Sunday rolled around, Steve   
and Bucky took over the kitchen. They   
made roasted pork with blackberry sauce,  
steamed green beans, honey-roasted carrots,  
four-cheese macaroni and cheese, and  
apple-pear crumble for dessert.

Nobody had asked anyone  
to bring a dish, but Sam brought  
African pumpkin bread pudding.

Rhodey came in carrying  
a huge carton of strawberries  
that made Tony laugh for  
some reason they didn't   
explain to anyone else.

Dr. Samson and Daveed  
showed up with a basket  
of poppyseed challah rolls.

"Forward ... forward ..."  
JARVIS chanted, and  
everyone turned to look.

Tiffany was coming in with  
a fruit basket so big that  
she couldn't see over it.

"That is a _lot_ of fruit,"   
Clint said, staring at it.

"It's not like we won't finish  
the extra food," Natasha said  
with a philosophical shrug.

Bucky clapped his hands.  
"Okay, kids, gather 'round,"  
he said. "Steve's gonna  
say grace, then we'll go  
around the table telling  
how our week went."

They shuffled around a bit,  
since none of the younger folks  
were used to the traditional ritual,   
but Bucky was an old hand at this.

He got them herded neatly into   
their places, just like a handler  
managing a team, and Steve  
fell in right alongside him.

Exactly where they should be.

**Author's Note:**

> [Family traditions](https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/creating-a-positive-family-culture-the-importance-of-establishing-family-traditions/) are important for human bonding. [Sharing meals](https://www.goodnet.org/articles/9-scientifically-proven-reasons-to-eat-dinner-as-family) creates family ties, and [Sunday dinner](http://emilypost.com/advice/sunday-dinner-an-old-tradition-in-a-new-light/) has [many benefits](https://theundefeated.com/features/five-ways-the-sunday-dinner-tradition-brings-black-families-together/).
> 
> Among the [favorite recipes for Sunday dinner](https://www.bhg.com/recipes/dinner/family-favorites-for-sunday-supper/) are [roasted pork with blackberry sauce and green beans](https://www.bhg.com/recipe/pork/roasted-pork-with-blackberry-sauce/), [four-cheese macaroni and cheese](https://www.bhg.com/recipe/best-four-cheese-macaroni-and-cheese/), [honey-roasted carrots](https://www.bhg.com/recipe/spice--honey-roasted-carrots/), and [apple-pear crumble](https://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/960243/sunday-dinner-chicken-salad-and-apple-pear-crumble/). [Challah](https://www.completelydelicious.com/challah-revisted-as-challah-rolls/) is a traditional Jewish bread. Pumpkin is a big part of black cuisine, such as this [African pumpkin bread pudding](https://www.thedailymeal.com/recipes/african-pumpkin-bread-pudding-recipe). Pepper is allergic to strawberries, [as mentioned in Iron Man 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LPqokP-Kqg), so Rhodey brings them to tease Tony because they are always jerking each other's chain. 
> 
> A [fruit basket](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_basket) makes a great host gift for most occasions. Knowing the Avengers, [Tiffany went all out](http://lambertsfruit.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/LR-150.jpg). There is about half a bushel of assorted fruit and snacks in that thing. Learn how to [make your own fruit basket](https://homeguides.sfgate.com/create-decorate-fruit-baskets-77243.html).


End file.
